This was our second time back to Carlyle Lake Illinois in 2023. Arriving at Carlyle Sailing Association on Friday, September 15 around midday, the winds looked to be very light but they kicked up enough for some good practice. We sorted out a problem we were having during the spinnaker hoist, of getting the starboard spin sheet around the forestay. After a few practice hoists on land, we were ready to test out the new maneuver, which worked out beautifully.

Winds were light Saturday morning but the PRO got us out there in time for when the winds came up later in the day. We sailed two races on Saturday, coming in 4th and 2nd. 14 Flying Scots were registered to sail, although not that many sailed. Overall in 4 starting fleets, there were 75 boats who participated.

Kevin dropped me off at the Indianapolis airport right after the regatta when I flew back to Seattle Sunday night. It was a whirlwind tour and I’m looking forward to Kentucky Lake in October.

We added a remote GPS system to the insta360 camera, which now shows speed, direction, course, and GPS coordinates. Adding them to the face of the video is interesting for determining lost speed during a tack and direction heading downwind. If only we had apparent wind angle! 🙂

I’m hoping brother Kevin will put down some lessons learned at the end for our reference.

Ok, Kevin here. He asked for lessons, here they are:
#1: WEAR THE NUCLEAR PINK SHIRTS!!! (Thank you Clinton Lake Sailing Association for these great regatta shirts!)
#2: Start with clear air and speed, regardless of what side is favored!
#3: Suck less each race!

Let’s see how we do at our next regatta: Kentucky Lake Flying Scot Sail-Fest Regatta, October 21 & 22, 2023!

The following was the starting sequences for all fleets.